


Extraordinary

by JThorsten



Category: Warcraft - All Media Types, World of Warcraft
Genre: Alcohol, Hurt, Inappropriate questions, Loss, Short One Shot, Songfic, hinted pairing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-06
Updated: 2018-06-06
Packaged: 2019-05-19 02:52:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14865243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JThorsten/pseuds/JThorsten
Summary: In the wake of Jaina leaving Dalaran, she and Anduin sit down and have a drink.Beware of Songfic.





	Extraordinary

**Author's Note:**

> I had intended on starting writing for rarepair week prompts, but... uh... this showed up instead. Heavily inspired by the song 'Extraordinary' by Idina Menzel. Sort of experimental. Not really sure I succeeded in getting the right stuff across. Done in only one or two passes. It may not stay up, or at the very least, experience some heavy editing later.
> 
> If you wish to follow along, here's a a link to the song. You will want to skip to 36 seconds in.  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVetDI1eHx8

The Pig and Whistle Tavern in the Old Town District of Stormwind was bustling, even so late in the evening. Some of its customers sat at the bar drinking, while others were gathered around tables playing rousing games of cards with one of the tavernkeeps.

A dwarven bard stood beside the major hearth, her lilting voice melodious and bright as she sang for the patrons.

In a booth at the far corner of the tavern sat two figures quietly mulling over their drinks. Both had their hoods pulled up to lessen the likelihood of someone walking up to speak with them.

_Not that anyone would,_ Anduin thought as he smiled ruefully down at the amber liquid in his glass. _Aunt Jaina spelled the booth so no one would bother us._ Looking over, he studied his adoptive aunt where she sat beside him. She was huddled over her drink, eyes red rimmed and distant.

Not half an hour ago, Jaina had showed up in Stormwind Keep, furious and heartbroken. The Council of Six, against the better judgement of their Grand Magus, had voted in favor of readmitting the Horde into Dalaran. Unable to remain in a city where the people who had done Jaina so much harm were allowed to roam freely, she fled. But not before finding someone who was deeply important to her.

Kalecgos, former Aspect of the blue dragon flight, had been sympathetic, and empathetic, to Jaina’s distrust and anger toward the Horde. He had been there when her city was blown apart. He had been the one who pled and beseeched her not to drown Orgrimmar in revenge. In the end, Kalec had succeeded, and remained by Jaina’s side as a lover and a supporter when she returned to Dalaran to stay.

Today, while Kalec continued to understand and sympathize with to her, he had been unable to join her when she left. The Legion was beating down on their doorstep, and the blue dragon could not bring himself to abandon Dalaran. There had been a time when the very same enemy had imprisoned and enslaved him. He could not allow that to happen to himself, or anyone else, ever again.

He had chosen the greater good over personal desires.

Jaina had understood, but it did not lessened the hurt that came with his choice. Instead, she sought the company of the only person left on Azeroth she considered family.

One of Anduin’s staff had caught him before he retired for the night. They had tactfully intercepted the distraught archmage long enough for him to be alerted to her presence and state of mind. At the time, Anduin had not known what ailed his beloved auntie, only that she was once again upset and needed him. He had rushed to her, anxious and concerned. Their parting during his father’s memorial had been rocky and painful. Even though his father had perished due to the Horde’s retreat, Anduin had not blamed them. They were outnumbered, just like the Alliance. He could not fault their desire to survive. Jaina had scolded him, an action he chose not to take personally.

He hoped her return might give him time to mend whatever damage had been done that day.

Jaina had been somewhat standoffish when he met her in a private parlor. After she explained what had transpired in Dalaran, he understood her apprehension. She had steeled herself for yet another betrayal.

Instead, all Anduin could do was put his arms around her and hug her tightly. The tension had melted away from her as she returned the embrace. Her apologies started right after, for her behavior at his father’s memorial, and for how she was acting now.

He had silenced her with a swift, almost painful squeeze, before he pulled away, hands on her shoulders. His smile was rough as he said, “I think this is one of those time where we both need a drink.”

And that was how they found themselves at the Pig and Whistle Tavern.

While Anduin didn’t drink regularly, his father had had the presence of mind to familiarize him with alcohol before he came of age. Politics and liquor, unfortunately, often worked hand in hand. Certain gatherings and activities required it, if not to ‘dull the edges,’ then to act as a type of measurement of those around them.

Distantly, Anduin noted the dwarven bard begin a new song. It sounded bittersweet, but he paid it little mind.

Staring down at the bourbon in his glass, Anduin chuckled bitterly. Alcohol had a wonderful ability to numb the senses and inhibitions. He had only come to appreciate those effects after his father died. The pain of losing him had been the worst he ever felt in his life. It surpassed even being crushed by the Divine Bell when he was fifteen years old.

 

_… cause I always wonder_

_If we could've have been something_

_Or is it all in my mind and_

_I always wonder,_

_Here I might have missed something_

_That we left behind and_

_Do you ever think of me,_

_And have you wondered could we be_

_Something extraordinary_

 

The chorus of the bard’s song caught his ear, drawing the young man’s attention back to his companion. Jaina, who also seemed to pick up on the lyrics, was looking over at the dwarven singer, her brow furrowed. The frown she wore deepened.

“What are you thinking about?” Anduin asked, startling himself with the question.

“Your father,” she answered simply.

 

_I still remember how you looked at me_

_You took me in like there was nowhere else you'd rather be_

_And you made me feel beautiful_

 

His father’s death, in some ways, had hurt Jaina even more than it hurt him. Theramore, and the majority of its populace, had been utterly destroyed only a handful of years ago. Jaina was the sole survivor from its epicenter. She had lost her people and her home in one fel blow. Anduin was certain part of her heart had never truly recovered.

Varian’s passing on the Broken Shores had torn her heart asunder once more. Even though she was badly injured during the battle, Anduin knew Jaina blamed part of his death on herself. She had come back on the nearly derelict airship with what remained of Stormwinds forces, wounded and inconsolable. Anduin had taken it upon himself to see to her injuries. While she believed him engrossed in his work, he heard her mumbling about how she had ‘been able to protect him in Pandaria, she should’ve been able to do it again.'

 

_I made a lot of mistakes_

_I'm not a kid anymore_

_But I'll never forget that I couldn't be yours_

_Cause I always wonder_

_If we could've have been something_

_Or is it all in my mind and_

_I always wonder_

_Here I might have missed something_

_That we left behind and_

_Do you ever think of me_

_And have you wondered could we be_

_Something extraordinary_

 

Jaina had taken a bullet wound to the chest while protecting his father during Garrosh’s trial. Whether anyone liked to admit it or not, she had bled out and died on the arena floor. Anduin’s hope, and Chi-Ji’s blessing, had brought her back. But in those moments between, his father had spoken to him in a way he never had before. His voice had been quiet, and eerily gentle as Varian tried to urge him away from her body.

He had not been able to bare the sight of it.

 

_I never forgot the way you kissed me_

_I never forgot the way you touched me_

_And once I thought I heard you say_

_You loved me_

 

A lone tear trickled down the side of Jaina’s left cheek.

_Wait…_ Anduin’s brow furrowed suddenly. It had been a popular rumor that his father and Jaina were carrying on some kind of tryst behind closed doors. They had always denied it, of course, and Anduin himself never noticed anything out of the ordinary.

But… King Anduin Wrynn and Achmage Jaina Proudmoore sat in a bustling tavern… unnoticed.

Jaina possessed the power to make it so.

 

_I always wonder_

_If we could've have been something, or is it all in my mind and_

_I always wonder, here I might have missed something, that we left behind and_

_I never told you_

_That you've been the one thing I held onto all this time_

_And do you ever think of me?_

_And have you wondered could we be_

_Something extraordinary_

_Extraordinary_

 

Jaina closed her eyes, regret washing over her face as tears began to fall once more.

Was it really possible? Had there been something between them? It wasn't _impossible,_ but….

Well, alcohol _did_ do wonders for one's inhibitions.

“Aunt Jaina, did you… and my father… were you ever…?” Anduin let the question trail off without finishing it.

Red rimmed eyes found his. Jaina blinked at him slowly as she seemed to mull over her possible answers. Finally, she looked down at her own tumbler of bourbon. Without a word, she lifted the glass and drained its contents in two swallows. The ice sphere inside clinked audibly as she brought the tumbler back down.

Her silence was the only answer Anduin received.


End file.
